The lack of adequate toilet facilities at youth football venues is a persistent problem that impacts players, coaches, and spectators alike.

The lack of adequate toilet facilities at youth football venues is a persistent problem that impacts players, coaches, and spectators alike.  I started a petition a few weeks ago after an influx of complaints from coaches, parents and players of grassroots football in my area. This was predominantly from those involved in the girls leagues, because after all - it is more of an issue for them.

Let's think about it, you're a child playing U7's football, sometimes your games are an hour's drive away, you have a 30 minute warm up and then 50 minutes for the duration of the game.  You are drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated and all that time there is no toilet. Now, I am mum to two boys, so I know that if nature calls they will quite happily find a secluded spot in a bush and do their business (to be honest they have been known to do this even when there is a toilet!) but not every child is happy to do that and it is logistically a lot more challenging for girls.

Now let's imagine you’re a 13 year old girl playing football, you've had the same journey, your matches are longer, to make things worse - you've got your period and there's no toilet.  Now what? You're in an impossible situation, you feel embarrassed, anxious, you don't know the area , neither do your parents, you need some privacy and there's no facilities available for you to use. This happens a lot, and so potentially you end up quitting football.

This isn't just about girls, but the problem is more prevalent in the girls game, in part down to the female anatomy but that is not the sole cause.  I have personally experienced situations as a coach whereby there have been facilities on site, but they simply haven't been opened up because it's 'not busy enough' to justify having someone unlock a building.  Typically this effects the girls leagues as they play (in my area at least) on a Sunday morning and there are fewer girls teams than boys/mixed so less footfall.

Fast forward a week or two from me starting the petition, it went from 975 signatures to over 22,000 signatures in the space of about 6 hours and I was being contacted by press and media for comment. This is clearly not an issue that is localised to my area nor is it an issue that is specific to girls. I  understand that there is no overnight fix for this and that not all venues have toilets, not all clubs own the land they play on, at some venues it just might not be practical to build a permanent solution. But I am continuing to campaign for more support and funding to help the teams and clubs that might struggle to meet a requirement to have access to facilities. 

Yes, there are many circumstances in which it will be a challenge to provide a toilet. Yes, this may even mean that some venues can't be used. Yes, it will likely cost money. BUT do any of those things mean that is acceptable to expect children to expose themselves in public to answer a call of nature? No. Do any of those things mean we shouldn't strive to be better and more inclusive? No. Will it ever be actually impossible to meet a requirement for a toilet?  No (a pop up tent and a camping toilet would do it!).

I have had a lot of support for this petition, it's at over 37,000 signatures now, I am truly grateful for every last person who has signed.  I have also had a fair amount of negative feedback online, suggesting I am going to 'ruin grassroots football' and force clubs and teams to fold. That is far from the intention, by pushing for improvements to be made I hope that I can play a small part in keeping girls in the sport for longer; in allowing relatives with restrictive medical conditions to be able to watch their loved ones take part in the game they love so much; and allowing our children to play their sport in a physically and emotionally safe environment.

So if you can spare a minute or two to sign and share the petition then please do.

https://www.change.org/we-need-loos